The human body’s response to stress is a complex system designed to help us navigate threats and challenges. But when this system is constantly activated, it can take a toll, leaving you anxious, sleepless, or exhausted. If you’ve ever felt like your nervous system is stuck in fight or flight, you’re not alone.
This post explores the mechanisms of the fight or flight response, its effects on our well-being, and practical strategies for restoring balance to a dysregulated nervous system.
At re-origin, we’ve helped hundreds of people calm their nervous system and return to balance. Our neuroscience-backed brain retraining program can help you reduce symptoms, restore balance to your nervous system, and support lasting healing.
Learn more about the re-origin program here.
Ten Ways to Get Out Of Fight or Flight Mode
- Brain Retraining: Practices that teach your brain to detect safety and shift out of threat patterns.
- Relaxation Techniques: Techniques like progressive muscle relaxation or guided imagery can help in reducing muscle tension and stress.
- Social Connection: Support from friends and family can provide significant stress relief.4
- Time in Nature: Exposure to fresh air and natural environments can be incredibly restorative.
- Creativity: Activities like cooking, baking, drawing, writing, or painting increase prefrontal cortex activity, thus calming the nervous system and turning off fight or flight mode.4
- Mindfulness: Staying present can help center thoughts and reduce perceived stress.3
- Deep Breathing: Engage in diaphragmatic breathing to help control stress and activate the parasympathetic nervous system.3
- Regular Exercise: Find an exercise routine or gentle somatic exercises that you enjoy and make it a regular part of your life.4
- Adequate Sleep: Prioritize sleep to help regulate stress hormones and recover from daily stressors.
- Routine: Daily structure provides stability and reduces anxiety.
- Professional Support: Various professional resources can provide support for managing stress. A program like re-origin helps retrain the brain to respond differently to stress.
What Is the Fight or Flight Response?
The fight or flight response is the body’s built-in way of handling threats. Controlled by the sympathetic nervous system, it releases stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. These chemicals raise heart rate, sharpen focus, and mobilize energy so you can respond quickly to danger.
When everyday stressors, such as work deadlines, health concerns, or financial strain, keep this system switched on, the nervous system can become stuck in fight or flight mode. Regaining balance requires activating the parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the body’s “rest and digest” mode, which restores calm and recovery.
The Four Stress Responses: Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn
There are four main stress responses your nervous system may use when faced with a perceived threat. This is a quick overview of how each one works:
- Fight: Confronting a threat with heightened energy and alertness.
- Flight: Escaping danger by mobilizing energy to move quickly.
- Freeze: Becoming immobilized when neither fight nor flight feels possible.
- Fawn: People-pleasing behaviors to avoid conflict or danger.
These survival responses are useful in emergencies, but in modern life, they can be unnecessarily triggered, leading to fight or flight symptoms even when no real danger exists.
To learn more about each of these stress responses, read Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn: Managing Your Stress Responses.
Symptoms of a Nervous System Stuck in Fight or Flight
A nervous system stuck in fight or flight can manifest through various physical and physiological symptoms. You may notice:
- High blood pressure and rapid heartbeat
- Elevated cortisol
- Muscle tension and headaches
- Digestive issues
- Brain fog and chronic fatigue
- Trouble sleeping
- Heightened alertness to surroundings
- Persistent feelings of being overwhelmed or on edge
These fight or flight symptoms signal that your nervous system is running on overdrive.2
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Long-Term Effects of Constant Fight or Flight Mode
When the nervous system is stuck in fight or flight mode beyond what it experiences during an acute (short-term) stressful event, it gradually wears down both body and mind. Prolonged activation of the stress response has been linked to:
- High blood pressure and cardiovascular disease
- Weight gain and blood sugar imbalances
- Impaired immune function
- Anxiety, depression, and mood disorders
- Sleep disturbances2
How to Rebalance Your Nervous System From Fight or Flight
While the ten ways above are practical daily actions you can take, this section highlights and dives deeper into a few of the strategies, explain how they work, and offer simple ways to begin.
Brain Retraining
Brain retraining involves practices that teach your brain to detect safety and shift out of threat patterns. With repeated, intentional repetitions, you create new pathways that dampen overactive stress responses and strengthen regulation. To begin, the re-origin program recommends setting aside a total of 30 minutes each day to practice the structured sequence provided in the program, and focus on tracking wins rather than perfection.
Brain retraining techniques help strengthen the parasympathetic nervous system—the branch of the autonomic nervous system that restores balance and counteracts the fight or flight response. With consistent practice, your nervous system gradually learns to shift more easily into a state of calm and remain there for longer periods, reducing your nervous system’s time stuck in fight or flight mode.
Breathing Exercises
Breathing exercises often involve deep breathing: taking slow, nasal inhales with longer exhales, using the diaphragm. This practice stimulates the vagus nerve and boosts parasympathetic tone. A simple way to start is with 4-6 breathing: inhale for four counts, exhale for six, and repeat.
By consciously controlling your breathing and focusing on slow, deep breaths, you activate the vagus nerve. This activation signals the body to shift from stress-induced responses into a state of calm. Somatic breathwork not only reduces the immediate physical effects of acute stress but also helps retrain the brain and body over time to respond to stress with greater balance and resilience.3
Physical Activity
Physical activity, even gentle or moderate movement, helps lower adrenaline and cortisol, improve sleep, and build overall capacity. Start with something that feels doable, such as a 10-minute walk, light stretching, or gentle somatic exercises, and gradually increase time or intensity only when your body feels ready.
Regular movement also elevates mood by releasing endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Making exercise a consistent part of your routine helps release stored tension and regulate stress hormones in a healthy way.4
Tip: When your nervous system is stuck in fight or flight, exercise can feel overwhelming. That’s why we created this list of somatic exercises, to help you find movements that match your energy levels and feel safe to start with.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is about bringing nonjudgmental attention to the present moment. It reduces rumination, widens your window of tolerance, and strengthens emotional regulation.3 A simple way to begin is by closing your eyes and focusing on the sensation of your breath as it moves in and out. When distractions arise, notice them without judgment and gently return your attention to the breath.
Try the video below to practice mindfulness!
You Can Exit Fight or Flight Mode and Enhance Your Well-being
Having a nervous system stuck in fight or flight can be debilitating; however, understanding the underlying mechanisms and knowing how to engage the parasympathetic nervous system can offer significant relief. By incorporating these strategies into your daily life, you can help your body navigate stress more effectively, leading to improved overall health and well-being.
Remember, if you are struggling to manage stress, it is important to seek help from a mental health professional. Your well-being is paramount; you can regain control over your health and life with the right tools and support.
At re-origin, our focus is on helping you retrain your brain, calm your nervous system, and return to health. Learn more about the re-origin program here.
